Recently I had the privilege of visiting Quelimane, the capital of the province of Zambezia, in a quick trip to visit Michelle, who was already there for a conference. It turns out that Quelimane is SOUTH a further 6 1/2 hours of drive time past the roughly 4 that I already made to be in Nampula, much further south than I had earlier imagined after consulting Google Maps. However, this city is incredible and I absolutely loved exploring it, as it had a completely different vibe than other places I have been so far in Mozambique. Pemba is known as a tourist destination. Nampula is known as a den of thieves. Quelimane is known as Little Brazil.
Quelimane is a coastal city, but to access the beach (named Zalala) you have to drive roughly 20km out of town. However, despite not having direct access to the ocean, the general atmosphere of Quelimane seemed more more like that of a coastal town than that of Pemba in Cabo Delgado. There was a natural, relaxed, formless, bustling-but-not-in-a-stressed-way sort of flow to the city that was reflected in the dispositions of its inhabitants as well. One of the coolest things about this capital is the bike taxis, which are one of the most common, if not the most common, way of getting around the city. It was great to be back in a place where there was so much biking and reminded me in some small way of cities like Boulder in the U.S., where they have such a presence. One taxi 'driver' I rode with told me that he had been working in the business for about 18 years! It's also worth mentioning that the street food in Quelimane is to die for. There are multiple hot dog (like big, fat Polish sausag-esque hot dog) stands, an incredible ice cream window and many of the other countless morsels that can normally be found in the streets.
Two of the ultimate highlights for me were: 1) Zalala beach, and 2) Café Delicioso. The beach wasn't the huge, sprawling white sands and clear waters of Pemba, but was more rugged; the water the day we went was actually extremely dirty and filled with soil and debris from what might have been an earlier storm. The waves were optimal for body surfing, and Michelle and I had an absolute blast getting out into the surf a ways and riding the waves back into the shallows. While we were there we also tried the catch of the day...unreal! There's nothing quite like fresh fish and this one was huge, totally fresh, prepared perfectly and had an unbelievably good flavor. There is a stretch of the beach where most of the fishing takes place, or at least where the boats are stored, and it was intriguing to walk along this stretch, meandering through all of the boats retired for the day.
Café Delicioso is one of those cafés that writers dream of, the full package with great coffee, a bare essentials appearance, amazing baked goods (and food items) at reasonable prices, and a bunch of local, regular-customer, old men outside on the patio drinking espresso, smoking cigarettes and yelling and pointing at each other from their respective sides of the walkway. It's the kind of haven that I would frequent if I had access to it, but Michelle and I did end up making sure to get there three times during our stay. Can't say enough about it and it is a shame I will most likely never get to go back!
Quelimane was a fantastic trip and I was extremely lucky to get to spend some time with Michelle in such a laid-back city with so much character...another destination down on our adventure list!
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| An abandoned fishing boat on Zalala Beach, near Quelimane (Photo: Michelle) |
